The present invention relates generally to protective garments such as the type which may be used by firefighters. More particularly, the invention relates to a protective garment having an improved high-lubricity inner lining.
Firefighter garments are generally constructed having a number of discrete layers. Typically, these layers include an outer shell, a moisture barrier layer, a thermal barrier layer and an inner lining (or face cloth). The layers are generally made from appropriate thermally-resistant materials to provide protection against heat and flame.
Various fabrics have been utilized in the past to produce the inner lining. One such fabric, which has enjoyed widespread use for this purpose, is often referred to as "pajama check." This fabric is made from warp and fill yarns of spun aramid fibers woven together into a ripstop weave.
In part due to the spun yarn, "pajama check" fabric generally exhibits a relatively low lubricity characteristic. In other words, a lining made from pajama check fabric will not be very "slick." As such, the lining may cause friction as it rubs against adjacent surfaces, such as the clothing worn by the firefighter under the protective garment. Because firefighting activities can be extremely strenuous, this friction may tend to fatigue the wearer.
Another fabric which has been utilized as an inner lining for protective garments is referred to as "Caldura." This fabric is made from warp yarns of spun aramid fibers and fill yarns of multifilament aramid fibers. The yarns are woven together into a twill weave that produces the characteristic "twill lines" exhibited in such a construction.
In order to reduce the rubbing friction described above, attempts have recently been made to produce inner linings having high-lubricity characteristics. One such fabric is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,815 to Barbeau, et al. This patent shows an inner lining fabric constructed of multifilament aramid yarns in both the warp and fill directions. Because multifilament yarns tend to be "slicker" than spun yarns, a fabric made entirely from multifilament yarn will typically have greater lubricity than the other fabrics discussed above.
While this construction does provide an inner lining having the desired high-lubricity qualities, the use of multifilament yarns in both directions leads to a number of drawbacks. For example, multifilament yarns tend to be more expensive than spun yarns. In addition, the industry's capacity to produce multifilament aramid yarns has often been limited.